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The House
Restoration House as we see it today is the amalgamation of two medieval buildings which were combined in the late 16th or early 17th century to create a mansion house just outside the south east corner of the city wall of Rochester. It was neither a town house nor a country seat but shared features of both, not least being the political seat of its creator and first owner Henry Clerke. Henry Clerke and his son Francis, both ambitious lawyers, were both elected several times as Royalist members of Parliament for Rochester.
The Civil War during the 1640’s led to this property, which was central to their political effectiveness, being sequestered and occupied by Colonel Gibbon, Cromwell’s commander in the South East. However with the death of Cromwell in 1658 and the weakness of his son, Royalist forces began plotting to restore the deposed King’s son, Charles Stuart, exiled in France and Holland, back onto the throne.
From early 1660 plans were advancing and Rochester being the only crossing of the Medway on the road from Dover to London was a strategic consideration, more so with a large part of the nation’s fleet, much expanded under Cromwell, being moored at Chatham Dockyard nearby.
The mansion in the ownership of Royalist Francis Clerke and presumably with the cooperation of Colonel Gibbon, was fitted up to receive the young Charles and to act as his overnight base in Rochester, an important stage on his progress to London. With Charles were his two younger brothers the Dukes of York and Gloucester.
Over the past ten years the present owners of Restoration House have uncovered various parts of the decorative scheme which they believe were “run up” for the occasion. These provide fascinating examples of fashionable mid-17th century Continental taste seen through provincial eyes at a time when such innovations had been quashed by Cromwell. Thus the use of ‘French Grey’ paint, of paint effect ‘marbling’ and ‘japanning’, of the opening up of rooms through ‘French doors’ cut into earlier partitions were not only introduced for Charles’ reception but have miraculously survived under later layers to be now once more revealed.
A Renovation that included an addition, restoration , pool and tennis court to an historic Quogue, NY home built in 1735. - (past project)
Baseboard heat shield removed to expose surficial mold growth. Note the dark cable - a "snake camera" was used to look behind the wall which confirmed mold growth. As this was an exterior wall, insulation makes it difficult to see all of damaged areas.
This is an sample of photo restoration services available.
This photo is my late father-in-law's baby picture.
Photo Restoration Commissions William Kaluta Photography
Photo Restoration by William Kaluta Photography
History
Restoration House was originally two medieval buildings (1454 and 1502–22) with a space between.
They were joined together in 1640-1660 (tree ring data from roof) by inserting a third building between the two, to create a larger house.
The first owner of the completed house was Henry Clerke, a lawyer and Rochester MP. Clerke caused further works in 1670, the refacing of the entrance facade, the Great Staircase and other internal works.
The house was then bought by William Bockenham. It was owned by Stephen T. Aveling in the late 19th century, and he wrote a history of the house which was published in Vol. 15 of "Archaeologia Cantiana".
The house was purchased for £270,000[7] by the English entertainer Rod Hull, in 1986, to save it from being turned into a car park; and he then spent another £500,000 restoring it.
It was taken by the Receiver in 1994 to cover an unpaid tax bill.
The current owners over the past decade have uncovered decoration schemes from the mid 17th century, which reveal the fashionable taste of the period, much influenced by the fashions on the continent.
Charles Dickens
According to the biographer John Forster, the novelist Charles Dickens, who lived nearby, used Restoration House as a model for Miss Havisham's Satis House in Great Expectations; the name "Satis House" belongs to the house where Rochester MP, Sir Richard Watts, entertained Queen Elizabeth I - it is now the administrative office of King's School, Rochester.